Give It All Away
by bellaxdiva
Summary: There are choices to be made by Rory Gilmore, and she knows that the consequences are going to be there either way. But it's between what her mother wants and what her grandparents want. Which one will she choose?
1. A Change Is Gonna Come

Life is a funny thing. Everyone gets that conclusion in their early stages of life when they discover that most questions do not come with one straight answer. Is Bigfoot real? Are there only nine planets? Do you choose your life for yourself or for the people around you? What is it that you really want? There are too many answers, but it is rare for two people to come up with the same one.

She was laying in the dark when she thought of all of this. She did not want to check the time, because she was afraid that he would wake up if she turned her head the slightest bit. Besides, she did not want to see him awake. No matter how troublesome her thoughts were, she was able to smile when she saw that he was in a deep sleep. It was the way he laid on his side, one arm behind his head and one arm around her waist. It was they way she felt like she did not have to make any choices when it was just the two of them. They both needed to get away from the world, their worlds. She knew that his family was killing him, but she did not know if there was anything he would do about it. Independence was something that took time to get used to and while he had a habit of making his own rules, she was not sure if he could defy his family for long.

In her own world, she was afraid of being cut into three parts. There was the girl that her mother wanted her to be, the girl that was going to make a name for herself for being a highly acclaimed reporter. The girl that came from a mother who was supposed to amount to nothing. Then there was the girl that her grandparents wanted to be. The girl that stayed home and made sure that the house was in order so that she and the family could spend a week in the Hamptons. But who did she want to be? That was when the third part came in. She could not think of a time when she was just herself. Even her name belonged to someone else, and every other name belonged to the flavor of the week. Lorelai. Rory. Mary. Ace. She was supposed to be all of these people but she still did not know who she really was.

In a perfect world, her life would be a _Lifetime_ movie. She would overcome the odds that came with being raised by a single mother but she would also have the side of her that came from privilege. None of that would matter though, because she would have conflict with both sides of the family until they all realized what was best for her. She would work at the New York Times for a while, she would eventually go to work for CNN, and some time when it was just right she would marry the man she went through all of the trouble for. Their families would give the happy couple their blessings and they would be their own people in a modest estate in Upstate New York. They would just be Rory and Logan. In a perfect world.

If only that was the case. If life was so easy she wouldn't be laying in bed thinking beside someone she had a chance at a future with. His parents would not hate her, and her family would be supportive of every aspect of the relationship that they had. If life was easy she would not have so many options, but someone must have been getting a laugh out of it. How much time had passed? She furrowed her brow at the sudden thought, still keeping still as not to wake him. It could not have been long. She really needed to see what time it was. With a soft sigh of frustration, she swept her hand along the side of the bed, inching down towards the ground for her cellphone. After a handful of what felt like minutes, she felt it in her hand and picked it up, flipping it open to see the time. 3:22. The time that she had finally decided.


	2. There's Something On Your Mind

_Time went by with Rory's decision kept to herself. She vowed to stay loyal to it no matter how long it was silenced and she did just that throughout the summer and the year. She had decided to go back to Yale after a few weeks into her stay in the pool house. Maybe it was the chaos that was the Gilmore lifestyle or maybe it was the first round of shots that did the trick, but all she knew was that she was going back. She would be with her friends, and she would be able to spend time with Logan without her grandmother's watchful eye around the corner. He wanted her to go back anyway. How could she be the award-winning journalist that he knew she would become if she gave up before people were able to realize how much talent she had? In the end, she was glad that she went back. After all, how could she miss the last year that Yale would be home to the colorful characters she had grown to love? How could she miss a moment that was going to shape the rest of her life?_

_It was the summer of her junior year and she had only hoped that things were going to be normal now. Family wise things were stable. And love wise? Things were better than she had thought they would be. Of course they had some problems of their own but all that mattered was the present. The two of them alone with just love and boxes in the room. _

"I'm going to tell her." The words came out of nowhere, invading the peaceful silence that the couple had been enjoying for a few minutes. Her face was buried into his bare chest, muffling her words, but he had no trouble hearing her while his fingers twisted the dark brown curls that had been tickling his side. "Logan?" She thought that he was not paying attention, or he just had not heard her, but she looked up to see an almost reluctant half-smile on his face. Seeing it, she paused. Was that a good or bad sign? Her unsure lips had pressed into a thin line, waiting for him to speak, but as time went by and no words were exchanged they loosened and fell into a humiliated frown. She wore her emotions with little thought of whether or not she should pretend to ignore it. But she was tired and anxious, and she felt ridiculous.

"Rory." Her eyes lit up at the sound of the 'R' coming from him. That was all that she needed to hear to break into a million smiles or break into a million shards of glass. That look. Her eyes locked onto his and she knew that they were fine. He was able to say every word that Rory kept inside, and he did not have to open his mouth. It made things so much better when he did, but just a look or a smile was good enough for her. "You need to make things better with Lorelai. I'm glad you decided that you're going to tell her, but I don't want you to be afraid about how I'm going to react. I'm not going anywhere. You'll have to drop me in the middle of the rainforest with a crazy straw if you want to get rid of me."

The answer was good enough for her. Her pale skin flushed a light shade of pink as she nodded, accepting his answer. Her face was back against his chest to drop three quick kisses along his ribcage before she rolled onto her back beside him. It was back to silence, but she doubted that he minded. She was fine with it as long as they stayed the way they did. As long as they were side by side, hand in hand. "Logan?" This time he turned his head to face her before she had the chance to jump to conclusions. "She'll be happy for us. I know you two aren't close, but once she gets to know you, she'll start to get used to the idea of you being her son-in-law. I guess we have work to do on both sides of the family, but I know my mother, and I know that she will want what's best for me. This is it."


	3. Gimme Some Truth

**Author's Note:** Thanks so much for the positive feedback, all coming in various ways. If you could give your opinions, share your thoughts, that would be awesome. Hearing people's opinions helps me get into the writing mood and helps me come up with more ideas. What do you think she chose? What should she choose? Who would you like to see pop up in future chapters? Just a few questions to keep in mind if you want to review. Thanks!

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"So..."

"So?"

On both ends of the table, eyes were judging them. In reality no one was past the point of so, they were just wondering what they were doing there at the cafe. Rory had a point for getting her mother to meet her there but the point was lost as they sat, staring down at their coffee. She should break the silence. She had decided that she was going to do that, it was only fair, but as she opened her mouth, unexpected words tumbled out.

"I eloped."

"What?"

"What?"

The voice wasn't hers. Someone wasn't hearing right. That had to be the case, because Rory was sure that her mother did not just announce that she had eloped. It was from another table or her mind playing tricks on her, but as her eyes scanned the room for tables of mothers and daughters who would possibly have someone that eloped recently, she only found old men reading _Time _magazine, and a single mother wiping her baby's mouth, a baby wipe in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She must have been sound of mind, but she was not sure if she was pleased by it or not. Maybe it was best that she went back to the issue.

"You didn't. You have been engaged for a year. We have been making plans, looking at churches, and comparing flowers. The bridesmaids are wearing lavender." She spoke as though her mother had been suffering from amnesia. Lorelai was obviously thinking of something else or the stress from the whole event had gotten to her and she was going crazy. That was it...or not. Why hadn't she thought of it before? Why didn't she look down at her hand? Sure enough, Rory's eyes wandered to her mother's left hand, and her only response was to place both of her hands on the surface of the table, palm down.

"Is that a ring?" She felt her mother's hand take hers with interest and stretch her arm across the table for a better inspection. Rory let her without any interruption. Someone would have thought she was dead if had she not released a deep breath out of frustration. "It is a ring! You could buy an island with that. You could by an island _and _a midget that likes to pull guns on people." Lorelai continued to admire the ring, or atleast that was what most people would call it. Rory was sure that she was just storing information to bring up the next time she found a reason to declare her hatred for Logan.

Wait, she thought to herself, a frown from inside her head gradually making its presence known on her face. With little warning, she yanked her hand back to her side of the table. "I had to invite you for coffee for you to tell me that I have a stepfather? I thought you would have at least told me, your daughter." She noted her mother's open mouth ready to jump to her own defense, but Rory was not interested in hearing her side of things. Not now. "Inconsiderate. You have to be the most inconsiderate person to do something so…so childish! Do you know how much money has been wasted? Do you realize that Sookie could have been spending more time with her family if you did not make her waste all of her time on getting menus ready and letting you sample food for a wedding that wasn't going to happen?"

A role reversal if there ever was, and both of them realized it. Rory was beginning to think that she had overstepped the daughter boundary, though she knew that she had every right to lash out at her mother. But while Rory kept her thoughts in her head, Lorelai, visibly taken aback, spoke only a few words. "I'm sorry, Emily." She left Rory to think over what had just happened between them. "The nail in the coffin," she whispered to herself. But Lorelai could not respond, she could neither confirm nor deny it. Although Rory was hoping that her mother would turn back around and hug her, she heard the tiny bell above the door confirm her suspicion. Lorelai was gone, and she was not sure when they would see each other again.


	4. No Reply

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. School's kicked back in and I haven't had any inspiration. So let's make this interactive, shall we? If you have anything you would want to see of course I'd put my spin on things feel free to suggest. You never know, it might be an idea that I like. Until then, review away!

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"I'm glad things are going well. I mean they're…" The confused brunette took a moment to pause, her eyebrows coming together to show further confusion. "They're…" That roadblock was persistent, but she was able to get through it with a stern look from her friend. "I'm glad things are going well." This awkward conversation was never the normal routine for them. They would debate the hidden meaning behind "Blister in the Sun", they would argue about whether the Runaways or the Bangles were the best all-female group, but they never had anything like this come up. Of course, it never did come up verbally, but it was there hanging over them waiting to crash down. But no, neither of them wanted to be the one to make it collapse. Lane was less than pleased with the situation, but taking sides would be her worst choice, she decided. She and Rory were best friends. Rory depended on her for stability when she could not talk to her mother, and she needed Lane more than ever now that she and her mother were really separated.

Rory bobbed her head absentmindedly. Her mind was just somewhere else, and it was evident to anyone near her. Lane tried her best to ignore it. The best meaning she opened her mouth three times to speak but fought it off before she brought up something that Rory did not want to hear. She was going to go for happy memories Rory-and-Lane, the pair that could ignore the world and bury themselves in stories from the past. It was always good to take their minds off something. "Hey, I was thinking, maybe we could have a girls' night out. You know, dig out the Spice Girls CDs, crimp our hair and paint our nails." Not missing a beat she smiled a cheery smile and added on, "But of course, those are just suggestions." That was enough to get Rory's attention. Though she was still slow in reaction compared to her usual quick thinking, she was miraculously brought back to life. That was enough to make Lane smile wider, right?

"That sounds great." It was a sign for the best until her eager grin fell to the floor. "Oh." Lane's expression mirrored her friend's. "Oh?" She repeated with disappointment. She had heard it wrong. That was what she was hoping, at least. Sometimes she did that. Everyone did that occasionally. But no, there was no error in her hearing. "I'm sorry it's just…" And the Gilmore excuse of the day was going to follow. Lane was quick to catch on to the routine. "It's just?" She repeated, hoping to draw out the latest reason more quickly. "It's just, I have to have brunch with Shira." Brunch? Since when did Rory Gilmore brunch? "And then there's an engagement party I have to go to. The Huntzbergers set it up for us, but it's going to be nice. Not like they don't plan nice events, or anything. It's just going to be another boring party with people we don't remember." The club? An engagement party? "And then we're going to my grandparents' house for portraits. You know, for the announcement and invitations?" Lane was amazed that she had just stopped there. She had to admit though, it was much better than the day Rory had to go to the charity auction and miss the performance for the record label. But she understood why her friend was overbooked. Rory had to look good for society now. She just had to show up and smile for five seconds and that was it…except it never was.

"Oh." This time, Lane's voice expressed understanding, albeit fake understanding. That was all she could do to remain the loyal, understanding friend. It wasn't like she hadn't considered handing the title over to Paris though. There were days, but friendship was friendship. They had been through too much already. "Lane, I have to go. I'm really sorry. I just…"

"Go."

The surprise blinded both, but that was all that needed to be said. No excuses. No questions. They both went their separate ways.

**A/N: reviews are love…**


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